Jennifer Quintana

An environmental activist and young black mother from Detroit, Siwatu-Salama Ra, fights a mandatory two-year sentence for felonious assault and felony firearm charges. The conviction stems from an incident in which Ra brandished a legally registered, unloaded firearm to defend herself, her mother, and her 2-year-old daughter from an attack by a woman who repeatedly tried hitting them with a car. Michigan’s Stand Your Ground Law covers those acting in self-defense, but Detroit police, prosecutors, and a jury claimed Ra did not act out of fear or self-defense, but instead as the aggressor. The case raises questions about how race factors into enforcement of the state's gun laws, and whether minimum sentencing guidelines make sense.

Now on PBS --  This award-winning documentary follows the life and times of theologian, Reinhold Niebuhr, with interviews from contemporaries like Dr. Cornel West, President Jimmy Carter, and Civil Rights Activist, Andrew Young.
 

Now airing on PBS, this award winning documentary takes the viewer into the dynamic world of chaplains, where you'll meet eight different faiths across eight different professions.  Meet the Buddhist Chaplain working in a maximum security prison that now has lowest rates of recidivism in the country or the Muslim Chaplain who was asked to join the Police Force to assist local law enforcement in making connections with the booming Yemeni and Bangladeshi populations in Hamtramck, Michigan. 

Enter the dynamic world of CHAPLAINS -- men and women trained to represent all faith traditions -- offering a unique perspective in a world plagued by religious divides.

Now on Netflix, City of Trees is a new documentary chronicling the people impacted by the DC Green Corps, a green job training program created by the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act. With a focus on two long-term unemployed blue-collar workers who attempt to break a cycle of drugs and hustling, City of Trees explores how urban forestry and community-based green works and job training projects have impacted struggling Americans and communities hardest hit by economic decline. A film about normal people fighting to provide for themselves, their families and environment, Green Corps offers a critical new perspective on the impact of the largest domestic policy in a century, focusing on the challenges of retraining America’s working poor for a volatile and unpredictable 21st century economy. 

A group of teenagers board a bus for West Virginia, leaving the streets of Washington, DC to participate in an ambitious peace education program. For the first time in their lives Mark, Asha, Martha, and Corey play in mountain streams, sing under the stars, and confront the entrenched abuse, violence and neglect cycles of their past. But as they return to DC, each young person faces an unforgiving series of hurdles and roadblocks that challenge their efforts to build a better life. Through breathtaking visuals from street corners to mountaintops, “Fly By Light” is an intimate exploration of the chaotic, confusing, and emotional journey to rewrite a young person’s future. Produced by One Common Unity in association with Meridian Hill Pictures.

In early 2013, AARP Foundation launched a pilot program in the Fort Lincoln neighborhood of Washington, DC, to develop an innovative, community-based solution to isolation using a new model known as Engaged Living Associations. Rather than target those who are isolated and try to “fix their problem,” the effort in Fort Lincoln was designed to build and strengthen the community more broadly.

With support from the Foundation and professional facilitators, a steering committee was formed of some 20 senior residents from the dozen housing clusters that make up Fort Lincoln. The committee began to talk about what isolation meant to them, what they cared most deeply about, and how they thought they could best engage isolated seniors in their own community. In the process, the model built a team of active leaders who would help create a sense of purpose and empowerment amongst their fellow community members. The steering committee called their new group Project S.I.N.G. (seniors in isolation needing guidance), and established their own mission statement: “Project S.I.N.G. is a community endeavor of the Fort Lincoln area that serves as the guiding force to inspire and motivate seniors into an active, stimulating, continuous lifestyle.”

How do you fit in when you wear something that makes you stick out ?

Hijabi Girls, a short documentary, profiles three Muslim-American teenagers who wear the hijab or headscarf.Through them, the film explores how a piece of cloth can transform its wearer into a political and religious symbol.  Karima, Salma, and Rana each talk about how they are viewed, what they dream about, and the struggle to be defined by who they are rather than by what they wear on their head.

Based on a true story by Chris Love.

When a gay man is asked by two of his dear friends, a lesbian couple, to help them create a family, his experiences with a local sperm donor bank becomes an daunting task. Created during the span of 5 days in October 2012 for the DC Shorts/Speakeasy DC first annual SpeakeasyShorts film competition.

A short sketch, written and produced by Anu Yadav, featuring a cast of characters that epitomize what it's like being a woman in a society dominated men.

Hard Earned,” produced by the Emmy and Peabody-winning documentary production team behind films such as “Hoop Dreams,” “The Interrupters,” “The Trials of Muhammad Ali,” and “Life Itself,” is a provocative and in-depth look at the lives of five working-class American families.

In six one-hour episodes, Al Jazeera America follows the families both at work and at home, as they juggle the rising costs of housing, education, food, medical bills and more – all while working low-wage jobs. As widening economic inequality and the wealth gap continue to increase in the U.S., can these lower-income families get ahead? How are wage stagnation, student loan debt and demographic shifts in the workforce contributing to financial instability for many Americans?

Filmed, Directed, and Edited a series of videos profiling University of Maryland's MSMaRT program. 

Washington, DC, native Greg White had always wanted to become a sailor, but after being arrested and sent to a maximum security prison for armed robbery his dream never felt so far away. While serving his 22-year prison sentence, Greg frequently turned to literature as a source of strength and inspiration. During one 18-month stint in solitary confinement, Greg read a book that resonated deeply with his long-held childhood dream to become a sailor. The book, "Black Jacks: African American Seamen in the Age of Sail," told a historical narrative of African Americans reclaiming their sense of freedom as merchant mariners on the high seas at the turn of the 19th century. White's ensuing correspondence with the book's author — Dr. Jeff Bolster, a maritime historian and professor at the University of New Hampshire — would prove to be a transformative experience for both men.

Inner City Inner Child places low-income preschool children on the road to literacy and future success by empowering their educators to use the arts to teach academic skills.